Discontinuous Predicates as Partial Deletion in Cantonese

Providing novel evidence from discontinuous predicates in Cantonese, this paper argues that partial deletion applies to the word level. A number of disyllabic verbs in Cantonese may appear as discontinuous strings where the two syllables are separated by suffixes and/or phrasal elements. We propose that their derivation involves a conspiracy of multiple operations in Narrow Syntax and in the Phonological Form (PF): (i) verb movement in Narrow Syntax creates copies; (ii) affixes induce a PF syllable deletion rule on the higher copy; (iii) partial Copy Deletion applies to the lower copy. Consequently, partial deletion not only applies to phrasal constituents (Fanselow and Cavar 2002), but also to words/heads. We also maintain a relatively conservative understanding of Copy Deletion by scattering the deletion to a PF deletion rule and Copy Deletion, where the partial effect is due to disruption of the latter by the former

A new framework to assess relative ecosystem vulnerability to climate change

Climate change poses a growing risk to global biodiversity. To prioritize conservation efforts, identification of the species and ecosystems most at risk from further changes in climatic conditions is critically needed. Although frameworks are available to assess species vulnerability to climate change, we still lack an easily implementable, ecosystem‐level perspective to inform landscape management. Here, we introduce a novel, spatially explicit vulnerability framework able to generate assessments at the ecosystem scale and apply it to Mozambican forest mangroves, which are under growing pressures from climate change. Results show that most of these ecosystems are currently highly vulnerable to sea level rise, while mangroves in the Zambezia and Nampula districts are highly vulnerable to both sea level rise and tropical storms. Altogether, we believe the introduced assessment framework has clear potential to inform conservation planning and management at various spatial scales, and help achieve adaptive management in the face of climatic uncertainties

An Algorithm for Modelling Escalator Fixed Loss Energy for PHM and sustainable energy usage

Prognostic Health Management (PHM) is designed to assess and monitor the health status of systems, anticipate the onset of potential failure, and prevent unplanned downtime. In recent decades, collecting massive amounts of real-time sensor data enabled condition monitoring (CM) and consequently, detection of abnormalities to support maintenance decision-making. Additionally, the utilization of PHM techniques can support energy sustainability efforts by optimizing energy usage and identifying opportunities for energy-saving measures. Escalators are efficient machines for transporting people and goods, and measuring energy consumption in time can facilitate PHM of escalators. Fixed loss energy, or no-load energy, of escalators denotes the energy consumption by an unloaded escalator. Fixed loss energy varies over time indicating varying operating conditions. In this paper, we propose to use escalators' fixed loss energy for PHM. We propose an approach to compute daily fixed loss energy based on energy consumption sensor data. The proposed approach is validated using a set of experimental data. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are also presented, and recommendations are given. Finally, to illustrate PHM, we set up an EWMA chart for monitoring the fixed loss over time and demonstrate the potential in reducing energy costs associated with escalator operation

Remaining Useful Life Modelling with an Escalator Health Condition Analytic System

The refurbishment of an escalator is usually linked with its design life as recommended by the manufacturer. However, the actual useful life of an escalator should be determined by its operating condition which is affected by the runtime, workload, maintenance quality, vibration, etc., rather than age only. The objective of this project is to develop a comprehensive health condition analytic system for escalators to support refurbishment decisions. The analytic system consists of four parts: 1) online data gathering and processing; 2) a dashboard for condition monitoring; 3) a health index model; and 4) remaining useful life prediction. The results can be used for a) predicting the remaining useful life of the escalators, in order to support asset replacement planning and b) monitoring the real-time condition of escalators; including alerts when vibration exceeds the threshold and signal diagnosis, giving an indication of possible root cause (components) of the alert signal.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, 7 table

Immunoregulatory Protein Profiles of Necrotizing Enterocolitis versus Spontaneous Intestinal Perforation in Preterm Infants

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP) are the most common acute surgical emergencies associated with high morbidity and mortality in preterm infants. We aimed to compare the profiles of immunoregulatory proteins and identify novel mediators in plasma of NEC and SIP infants. We also investigated the expression of target genes in resected intestinal tissues and an enterocyte cell line. Using Cytokine Antibody Array assay, we reported the first comparative profiles of immunoregulatory proteins in plasma of NEC and SIP infants, and showed that dysregulated proteins belonged to functionally diversified categories, including pro- and anti-inflammation, angiogenesis, cell growth, wound healing, anti-apoptosis, cell adhesion and extracellular matrix reorganization. Validation by ELISA confirmed significantly higher concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6, angiopoietin (Ang)-2, soluble type II interleukin-1 receptor (sIL-1RII), and soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) in NEC infants compared with gestational age-matched control, and a lower level of an epidermal growth factor receptor, secreted form of receptor tyrosine-protein kinase ErbB3 (sErbB3), compared with SIP infants. mRNA expressions of IL1-RII and uPAR were up-regulated in resected bowel tissues from NEC infants, indicating that immunoregulation also occurred at the cellular level. In FHs-74 Int cells, Ang-2, IL1-RII and uPAR mRNA expressions were significantly induced by the combined treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and platelet activating factor (PAF). Our study provided plasmatic signatures of immunoregulatory proteins in NEC and SIP infants, and demonstrated involvement of multiple functional pathways. The magnitude of changes in these proteins was significantly more extensive in NEC infants, reflecting the different nature of injury and/or severity of inflammation. We speculate that dysregulation of IL-6, Ang-2, IL-1RII and uPAR occurred at both systemic and cellular levels, and probably mediated via LPS and endogeneous PAF signals. Such exaggerated immunologic responses may account for the high morbidity and mortality in NEC compared with SIP patients

Aberrant Transferrin and Ferritin Upregulation Elicits Iron Accumulation and Oxidative Inflammaging Causing Ferroptosis and Undermines Estradiol Biosynthesis in Aging Rat Ovaries by Upregulating NF-Κb-Activated Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase: First Demonstration of an Intricate Mechanism

We report herein a novel mechanism, unraveled by proteomics and validated by in vitro and in vivo studies, of the aberrant aging-associated upregulation of ovarian transferrin and ferritin in rat ovaries. The ovarian mass and serum estradiol titer plummeted while the ovarian labile ferrous iron and total iron levels escalated with age in rats. Oxidative stress markers, such as nitrite/nitrate, 3-nitrotyrosine, and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, accumulated in the aging ovaries due to an aberrant upregulation of the ovarian transferrin, ferritin light/heavy chains, and iron regulatory protein 2(IRP2)-mediated transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1). Ferritin inhibited estradiol biosynthesis in ovarian granulosa cells in vitro via the upregulation of a nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and p65/p50-induced oxidative and inflammatory factor inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). An in vivo study demonstrated how the age-associated activation of NF-κB induced the upregulation of iNOS and the tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). The downregulation of the keap1-mediated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), that induced a decrease in glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), was observed. The aberrant transferrin and ferritin upregulation triggered an iron accumulation via the upregulation of an IRP2-induced TfR1. This culminates in NF-κB-iNOS-mediated ovarian oxi-inflamm-aging and serum estradiol decrement in naturally aging rats. The iron accumulation and the effect on ferroptosis-related proteins including the GPX4, TfR1, Nrf2, Keap1, and ferritin heavy chain, as in testicular ferroptosis, indicated the triggering of ferroptosis. In young rats, an intraovarian injection of an adenovirus, which expressed iron regulatory proteins, upregulated the ovarian NF-κB/iNOS and downregulated the GPX4. These novel findings have contributed to a prompt translational research on the ovarian aging-associated iron metabolism and aging-associated ovarian diseases

Albumin-bilirubin grade predicts the outcomes of liver resection versus radiofrequency ablation for very early/early stage of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background and purposeWhether liver resection or ablation should be the first-line treatment for very early/early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients who are candidates for both remains controversial. The aim of this study was to determine if the newly-developed Albumin-Bilirubin (ALBI) grade might help in treatment selections and to evaluate the survival of patients treated with liver resection and radiofrequency ablation (RFA).MethodsPatients with BCLC stage 0/A HCC who were treated with curative liver resection and RFA from 2003 to 2013 were included. Baseline clinical and laboratory parameters were retrieved and reviewed from the hospital database. Liver function and its impact on survival was assessed by the ALBI score. Overall and disease-free survivals were compared between the two groups.Results488 patients underwent liver resection (n = 318) and RFA (n = 170) for BCLC stage 0/A HCC during the study period. Liver resection offered superior survival to RFA in patients with BCLC stage 0/A HCC in the whole cohort. After propensity score matching, liver resection offered superior overall survival and disease-free survival to RFA in patients with ALBI grade 1 (P = 0.0002 and P ConclusionsLiver resection offered superior survival to RFA in patients with BCLC stage 0/A HCC. The ALBI grade could identify those patients with worse liver function who did not gain any survival advantage from curative liver resection